This social report of Australia's children presents a range of population and social statistics on Australian Children aged under 18. The report concentrates on issues which impact on children including family life, physical environment, economic environment, health and education. Also includes tables, graphs, textual commentary and analysis of the data. Where data are available, trends over time and State and Territory differences are analysed.

MAIN FINDINGS

POPULATION

At 30 June 1997 there were 4.7 million children aged 0-17 in Australia. Although the number of children is increasing each year, they make up a declining proportion of the population. Children comprised 34% of the total population in 1971 but this had declined to 25% in 1997. The decline is expected to continue into the next century. From around 2020, for the first time, children are projected to form a smaller proportion of the population than persons aged 60 and over.

Indigenous children represent around 4% of all children in Australia. The number of Indigenous children increased by 12% between 1991 and 1996, compared with a 2% increase in the total number of children.

In 1996, the vast majority (94%) of children lived with at least one of their parents. However, children were more likely to have parents who were in a de facto relationship or to be living in one-parent families than they were ten years previously.

In 1996, 91% of Australian families with children were so-called 'nuclear' families with only parents, or a parent, and their children usually resident in the household. Of the 165,400 children in extended one-family households, 56% had a grandparent living with them, and of the 106,000 children in multifamily households, 71% were living with their grandparents' family.

The average Australian family (with at least one child aged 0-17) had 1.9 children aged 0-17 in 1996. Among these families, 38% had only one child in this age range, while 40% had two children, 17% had three children and 6% had four or more children. Indigenous families, families in rural areas and blended families tended to have more children than the average.

More than 50,000 children were affected by the divorce of their parents during 1997. Although the annual number of divorces rose from 39,700 to 51,300 between 1987 and 1997, the proportion involving children fell from 59% to 54% of all divorces. Almost 1 million children (21% of all children) had one natural parent living outside their household, usually as a consequence of marriage or relationship breakdown.

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

The economic wellbeing of children is largely determined by their parents' employment, income and assets. In 1996-97, just over half (54%) of children in couple families had both parents employed and a further 38% had one parent employed. For children in one-parent families, less than half (44%) lived with a parent who was employed. Parents with young children, particularly mothers, were less likely than those with older children to be employed.

Children were slightly more likely to live in families ranked at the lower end of the income distribution. When ranked on income adjusted for the differing needs of different sized families (i.e. equivalent income), 70% of children in one-parent families and 41% of children in couple families were in the lowest 40% of the income distribution in 1996-97.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

In 1996, 88% of families with children lived in separate houses, 5% lived in semi-detached dwellings and 5% lived in flats, units or apartments. Living in medium and higher density dwellings was more common among one-parent families than couple families, and was also associated with the presence of young children in the family and low income.

In 1996, 76% of all couple families with children owned or were purchasing the home in which they lived, compared with 39% of one-parent families. Home ownership was less common among low income families, families which had young children only and Indigenous families. In 1996, 26% of Indigenous families owned or were purchasing the home in which they lived.

HEALTH

Overall Australian children are the healthiest group in the population. In 1995, 18% of children had visited a doctor in the two weeks prior to interview, compared with 25% of the adult population. Fewer children (52%) than adults (75%) had used medication during this period. The most commonly reported medical condition among children was asthma, affecting 16% of all children as either a recent illness or a long-term condition.

Australia's infant mortality rate has shown a continuing and appreciable decline during this century, and in more recent years fell from 17 per 1,000 live births in 1971 to 5.3 per 1,000 in 1997. Of all infant deaths during the period 1992-96, 38% occurred on the day of birth, 27% in the remainder of the neonatal period (the first 28 days after birth) and 35% in the postneonatal period (from 28 days until the end of the first year). Deaths among children over the age of 1 are relatively uncommon. In 1997, there were 1,106 deaths of children aged 1-17, with almost half (48%) attributable to accidents, poisoning's or violence. Motor vehicle accidents and drownings were the major causes of these deaths.

EDUCATION

In 1997, there were 1.9 million primary students and 1.3 million secondary students in Australian schools. Almost three-quarters (74%) of all primary students and two-thirds (66%) of all secondary students attended government schools. Of the remainder, most attended Catholic schools.

(a) Estimates for Indigenous persons are high series projections - see Experimental Projections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population, 30 June 1996 to 30 June 2006 (cat.no. 3231.0) for further explanation.

(b) Includes confinements of mothers aged under 15 years in some States and Territories, particularly the NT.

(c) Estimates for the NT exclude remote and sparsely settled areas. As a result, numbers for the States and Territories do not add to the Australian total which is weighted independently to the total population.

(d) Estimates for the NT exclude remote and sparsely settled areas.

Units

Reference period

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Aust.

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

Couple families with dependants aged 0-17(a)

Mean gross weekly income

$

1996-97

1049.8

943.1

940.4

945.6

1042.6

867.5

1162.4

1247.6

992.9

Median gross weekly income

$

1996-97

896.6

860.0

859.9

837.2

946.8

812.5

*1047.5

1155.2

877.9

Government support as principalsource of income

%

1996-97

11.9

11.6

13.4

*12.2

*7.0

*12.8

**7.0

**5.7

11.5

Couple families with dependants aged 0-24

Both parents employed

%

Jun 1998

56.6

58.3

58.9

54.5

56.4

53.5

68.9

70.3

57.5

Both parents employed full-time

%

Jun 1998

24.5

24.2

23.5

18.9

20.6

19.3

40.7

31.8

23.6

Neither parent employed

%

Jun 1998

8.9

8.1

7.2

9.7

6.9

11.6

5.6

3.5

8.6

Mother employed full-time

%

Jun 1998

26.6

26.8

25.9

21.7

23.0

23.1

41.9

35.5

26.0

Mother employed part-time

%

Jun 1998

32.6

34.3

36.1

36.8

36.7

36.2

28.8

39.1

34.6

Mother not employed

%

Jun 1998

40.8

38.9

38.1

41.5

40.3

40.7

29.3

25.4

39.5

One-parent families with dependants aged 0-17(a)

Mean gross weekly income

$

1996-97

448.8

411.4

397.5

380.6

460.6

446.9

458.6

487.4

427.0

Median gross weekly income

$

1996-97

344.0

318.2

362.8

322.0

385.7

*415.3

*402.4

*373.8

346.6

Government support as principal source of income

%

1996-97

67.1

68.6

63.0

76.2

56.4

*50.8

**57.8

*51.2

65.6

One-parent families with dependants aged 0-24

Parent employed

%

Jun 1998

43.3

49.2

47.0

38.5

47.4

53.8

49.7

67.9

46.1

Parent employed full-time

%

Jun 1998

21.9

27.3

24.5

14.3

22.3

25.2

34.8

47.1

23.7

Families with children aged 0-17 with a natural parent living elsewhere(b)

'000

Apr 1997

203.0

123.9

118.9

48.8

64.9

18.3

5.9

12.0

597.5

Who received cash child support

%

Apr 1997

44.4

43.8

39.4

42.1

39.7

41.4

42.8

37.3

42.3

Who received in-kind child support only

%

Apr 1997

16.1

17.9

13.0

14.7

17.0

20.3

*26.0

24.5

16.3

Who did not receive child support

%

Apr 1997

38.7

37.9

47.6

43.1

42.4

38.3

*31.2

38.2

40.9

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Couple families with dependants aged 0-17

Owner without a mortgage

%

Aug 1996

31.6

33.3

27.2

29.1

26.9

31.2

12.8

23.7

30.2

Owner with a mortgage

%

Aug 1996

42.1

47.3

44.2

51.1

50.6

48.1

31.7

52.4

45.5

Renter

%

Aug 1996

23.0

16.2

25.3

17.3

19.5

17.9

44.6

22.3

21.0

Living in a separate house

%

Aug 1996

86.2

92.1

93.7

92.9

93.9

96.8

85.4

93.6

90.7

Living in a semidetached/row or terrace house/town house

%

Aug 1996

4.9

2.5

2.2

4.8

3.3

1.0

3.4

4.7

3.5

Living in a flat/unit/apartment

%

Aug 1996

6.5

3.4

1.8

1.2

0.9

0.9

3.6

1.1

3.6

One-parent families with dependants aged 0-17

Owner/purchaser of home

%

Aug 1996

37.5

45.9

35.5

39.1

41.5

40.1

22.4

40.7

39.4

Renter

%

Aug 1996

58.7

50.2

60.9

58.0

54.9

56.9

63.5

57.0

56.7

Living in a separate house

%

Aug 1996

70.9

80

79.5

73.6

80.7

87.6

72.1

78.3

76.5

Living in a semidetached/row or terrace house/town house

%

Aug 1996

11.7

6.4

8.9

19.8

13.2

5.1

7.4

15.2

10.6

Living in a flat/unit/apartment

%

Aug 1996

14.5

11.3

8.5

5.4

3.9

6.0

9.6

5.6

10.3

(a) Estimates for the NT exclude remote and sparsely settled areas.

(b) Estimates for the NT exclude remote and sparsely settled areas. As a result, numbers for the States and Territories do not add to the Australian total which is weighted independently to the total population.

(b) Estimates from 1987 to 1990 have been benchmarked to the 1991 Census. From 1991 to 1995, estimates have been benchmarked to the 1996 Census. Data for 1996 and 1997 are high series projections - see Experimental Projections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population, 30 June 1996 to 30 June 2006 (cat. no. 3231.0) for further explanation.

(c) Includes confinements of mothers aged under 15 years in some States and Territories, particularly the NT.

(d) Prior to 1989 one-parent families include a small number of other non-couple families with dependent children.

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